Organizations are gradually focusing on creating a healthy workplace for their employees and becoming more people-centric. This occurs because a healthy workforce increases the work performance of the organisation and the personal development of its employees. This study aims to investigate the HR functions that impact employee motivation in the Malaysian banking sector. The three HR functions that were selected were training and development, rewards and recognition, and career management. The study utilised a cross-sectional design, and the research instruments were adapted from a number of past studies. A total of 350 respondents from the Malaysian banking industry were recruited. Using SPSS Version 26.0, the research hypotheses were examined. The results show that rewards and recognition are not significant predictors of employee motivation in the Malaysian banking industry; however, training and development and career management are significant predictors of employee motivation. These results will help the human resources department develop and improve its HR operations.

This study aims to empirically analyze the impact of budget allocation by the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information (KISTI) on national research competitiveness, thereby reassessing the value of investing in research infrastructure within a knowledge-based society. In the 21st century, research and development (R&D) have emerged as a pivotal element of national competitiveness, underlining the increasing importance of investments aimed at constructing and enhancing research infrastructure. However, empirical studies examining the causal relationship between research infrastructure investment and national research competitiveness are still notably scarce. Accordingly, this research endeavors to systematically delineate the effect of research infrastructure investment, with a focus on KISTI’s budget allocation, on enhancing national R&D outcomes. To achieve this, the structural relationship between KISTI’s budget, national R&D budget, and various academic and industrial performance indicators was analyzed using multiple regression and simple regression analysis. In particular, by demonstrating the mechanism through which the budget management of research support organizations like KISTI contributes to strengthening national research competitiveness, this study aims to shed new light on the strategic value of research infrastructure investment in a knowledge-based society. Furthermore, these findings are expected to provide valuable evidence for the formulation of national R&D policies in Korea and the strategic planning of budget operations for research support organizations. Through strategic investment of limited budgets, this could enhance the efficiency of national R&D investments and contribute to strengthening the capacity for scientific and technological innovation required in a knowledge-based society.

Sustainable development has attracted widespread attention worldwide, and the circular economy has become one of the essential policies of many countries. Small and medium-sized enterprises are important drivers of world economic growth and can significantly impact the environment. Therefore, SMEs are critical players in implementing a circular economy as the basis for creating a sustainable society. Although a wealth of research on SME environmental management issues can be found in the literature, more must be known about the infusion of green practices in SMEs. The primary purpose of this study is to explore the green practice infusion of Taiwanese SMEs, a context that is particularly relevant due to Taiwan’s strong focus on environmental sustainability and its circular economy industrial development policy. Through a questionnaire survey, this study examined the factors that influence green practice infusion behavior in Taiwanese SMEs and the impact of green practice infusion on circular economy performance. The findings show that the relative advantages and compatibility of the circular economy, organizational support, human resource quality, regulatory pressure, and government support significantly impact the green practice infusion of Taiwanese SMEs. The effects of complexity, customer pressure, and environmental uncertainty on SMEs’ infusion of green practices are not statistically significant. Circular economy performance is positively correlated with green practice infusion. This study can broaden the research scope of SMEs’ environmental management and contribute to a deeper understanding of SMEs’ green practice infusion and circular economy.

The small and medium tourism enterprises sector has experienced a decline in Indonesia’s economic conditions in recent years. This research aims to advise stakeholders regarding factors that must be considered and included in future policy formulation. The research methodology is a mixed method supported by the N-Vivo computer program, interview studies, and FGD. This research focuses on four tourism provinces in Indonesia. The research results using thematic analysis identified 133 codes, 19 categories, nine core themes, and one impact theme. This research’s novelty highlights that government policy’s effects on tourism SME marketing are not significant due to weak support. Apart from that, partnerships and collaboration between the central regional government and tourism SMEs are the main factors determining their development at the regional level. This research concludes that government intervention and support in encouraging the growth and sustainability of tourism SMEs are necessary. The Government must promote collaboration between tourism SMEs because increasing the number of tourists is crucial, as well as encouraging sustainable marketing practices and simplifying regulations. The recommendation is that the Government immediately simplify regulations, expand partnerships and collaboration, and promote innovation in tourism SMEs. By implementing these recommendations, policymakers can create an environment that supports the development of tourism SMEs, allowing the tourism sector to increase GRDP.

Research in the field of online advertising has focused on the effect of in-stream ads on viewers’ attitudes and intentions to purchase. However, little is known regarding the crucial role of viewer’s control in terms of the ‘skip ad option’ towards the attitude to purchase. This research aims to investigate the effect of in-stream ads on viewers’ attitudes to purchasing with the moderating role of viewer control. Primary data was collected from respondents of Vehari district of Pakistan through a questionnaire based on 5 points Likert scale. 370 questionnaires were incorporated after excluding the questionnaires having missing values. Structural equation modelling was used through SmartPLS-3 software in testing the hypotheses. The findings reveal that, in-stream (emotional, informational, and entertaining) ads have positive impact on viewers’ attitudes, and viewers’ control moderates the relationship between in-stream ads and viewers’ attitudes towards the ads. Further, viewers’ attitude toward the ads has a significant positive impact on viewers’ intention to purchase. To the best of our knowledge this is one of the first studies that examines the effect of in-stream ads on viewers’ attitudes to purchasing with the moderating role of viewer control in the context of a developing country, like Pakistan.